{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Truth In This Art","title":"“You Don’t Need a Plan”: Jesse Kirsch (No Plan Studio) on Letterpress, Design, and Community in Takoma Park","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":4419,"description":"In this episode of The Truth In This Art, I sit down with Jesse Kirsch — graphic designer, artist, and co-founder of No Plan Studio, a Takoma Park studio combining contemporary design with century-old letterpress equipment.\n\nAbout Jesse Kirsch: Kirsch is a graphic designer and artist whose work spans print, installation, and community projects. At No Plan Studio, he and his wife and creative partner, Diane, bring modern design together with vintage printing tools, while making room for experimentation and unexpected turns.\nKirsch’s path has moved through graphic design, letterpress, art fairs, and ambitious installations, including a project for a renovated NBC studio in Washington, D.C. He talks about how technology can be another tool in the artist’s kit, and why a project, deadline, or purpose can help get ideas moving.\n\nDuring the pandemic, he designed and printed three letterpress prints for Takoma Park, donating the proceeds to grants for local businesses. The project raised around $10,000. What began as a way to help neighbors became a deeper connection to the place he calls home — and a reminder that design can mean more than a paycheck.\n\nHe also reflects on the name No Plan and the way creative work can take unexpected turns. An article once described the studio’s work this way: “The town is our portfolio.” In this conversation, Kirsch shares how that idea reflects No Plan Studio’s connection to the community around it.\n\nFind No Plan Studio on Instagram at @NoPlanStudio, at NoPlan.studio, and find letterpress goods at NoPlan.press.\nPhoto credit: Shawn Bruce.","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/JOa6JbGOYOtDQMaChk3GEjdMaqieN4aTVZIMSZjm84c/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS85Y2U0/ZjJkMjUzNTFiYjlh/NTNkMDAxNzg0Y2Iy/ZWI5My5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}